ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday reiterated the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) push to return Kirkuk and other disputed territories to the Kurdistan Region, while also hitting back at negative remarks made by Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani.

Speaking at a KDP rally in Erbil’s Shaqlawa district, Barzani said that “we can return Kirkuk and all the other occupied areas to Kurdistan,” adding that “Kirkuk was not just occupied; Kirkuk was occupied [as a result of] treason.”

Kirkuk is a disputed province in northern Iraq. Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution mandates a process to outline a clear and definitive boundary in the disputed areas by introducing a referendum to determine the will of the residents living on the lands. 

The implementation of the article has been continuously delayed by the Iraqi federal government.

On October 16, 2017, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) lost control over Kirkuk and other disputed territories after a military offensive by the Iraqi government was conducted in the province, bringing it under the rule of Baghdad. Kurdish authorities have continuously pledged the eventual return of the lost territory.

Barzani also slammed the remarks made by Talabani during a PUK rally a day earlier, with the leader having said, “What is the point of Erbil having spacious halls and wide streets if there is no freedom in them?” 

In response, Barzani retorted, “Freedom is to advocate for the homeland's freedom; freedom is not raiding a hotel with bombs and tanks or raiding your own opposition,” making reference to a dramatic clash in Sulaimani in late August when PUK-affiliated forces engaged in a heavy gunfight while arresting People’s Front leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi at his residence at the Lalezar Hotel.

Jangi is a former PUK official who left the movement to form an opposition party.

The Lalezar battle killed more than a dozen on Jangi’s side and saw the arrest of multiple others, with at least three PUK-affiliated fighters also dying in the immediate aftermath of the operation and 19 more wounded, before ultimately leading to the arrest of the People’s Front leader and his brother, Polat Sheikh Jangi.

Sulaimani security forces (Asayish) later in August published a seven-page document implicating Jangi in an assassination attempt against Bafel Talabani.

“We must prevent the plans of Kurdistan's enemies from Baghdad, and they should know that for the KDP, the people and land of Kurdistan are the goal, and it is ready to sacrifice itself for their sake,” the premier asserted. 

The Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections were held on October 20, 2024. Despite several meetings between the two election winners and major progress in finding shared views for the government’s agenda and programs, the KDP and PUK have yet to reach an agreement on the distribution of posts.

“Preventing the formation of a new government is not an achievement,” Barzani said, adding, “Those parties who say we prevented the formation of the government are the very ones who want positions and posts for personal interests.” 

The KDP, as the victor of the elections with 39 out of a total of 100 seats, has offered second-place PUK, with 23 seats, several important posts within the cabinet. The positions include parliament speaker, deputy prime minister, and deputy president, as well as several ministries, including the finance and Peshmerga ministries.